Week Four

Four Weeks are behind us and at least another four in front of us. The puppies are eating, sleeping and now playing with each other. They are starting to get their own personalities and they like to sit on our lap. The Puppies are eating a lot more food which may be why they have amazing “puppy breath” right now. The little guys nurse 6 times a day and have meals another 3 times. Maybe that’s why they sometimes look like they have a huge MOUTH!

Photo 1. We put the puppies behind the partition and clean the puppy pen. Photo 2 & 3 we let Aubry in and she looks to make sure all the poop and pee has been picked up. Photo 4 mom lays down and has laser eyes. 5. We pick out the smaller pups or the ones that didn’t gain much weight lately and put them on Aubry. Photo 6 & 7 We lift the partition and let the rest of the pups out–at least 2 run the wrong way. Photo 8 Aubry is swamped and goes into a trance. Photo 9 & 10 I feed Aubry 2 popsicles to help take her mind off the ordeal. Photo 11 & 12 the pups are starting to empty Aubry out and move on to playing. Photo 13 is puppy “time out”. The puppy was done eating and fighting with a littermate. I picked him up to calm him down and Aubry licked him. Photo 14 Aubry is happy the last pup is finished and climbing over the top. Photo 15 Aubry has escaped and the babies are now playing with each other.

This pen doesn’t look like much but it is outstanding. Beneath the pen is 2 layers (1 inch) of carpet pad and a continuous piece of linoleum. The floor is covered with sheets and towels to help the puppies walk. They are uncoordinated and the linoleum is too slippery. The pen is 8 feet wide and 12 feet long. There are several slots to install temporary partition walls, so we can isolate the pups, or let Aubry in, or just clean. On the right side is a door to let the mom or visitors enter. Farther down the right side is a huge hinged door that will allow us to let the pups into the back yard. There are paper towels stashed within arms reach of anywhere, and there is a fence covered with towels and blankets surrounding the entire thing. The fence is moved several times a day to provide privacy when Aubry is with the pups, or when we don’t want the pups to see their mother. The trash can is full of really, really gross stuff. The puppies live in the pen and are growing up surrounded by normal household noises.

Taking pictures of the puppies is very hard. They are very dark and you can’t see them in the view finder. They never stay still and they are always covered with cereal or something. Here is an example: My wife is cute and the puppy is cute, but my pictures are mediocre.

Here is our first attempt at individual pictures, we promise they will be better next week.

Warning: Medical Content

The item in the yellow tube on the left is something called Nipple Butter. I didn’t know there was such a thing. Aubry loves it, and needs it. She has 8 spigots and we go through a lot of it. It costs $15 and we are on our 4th tube. The bottle on the right is actually full of Baby Gripe Water. It does what it says it does. When the babies Gripe we give them a few CC’s. If they made this stuff for teenagers they’d really have something!